Survival Rate of Breast Cancer in Eastern Mediterranean Region Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer (BC) is one of the main problems of public health around the world. As a consequence, survival rates are one of the most salient indicators for assessing the quality of cancer control and treatment programs. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to evaluate the survival rate of breast cancer in the Eastern Mediterranean region at different periods of time. METHODS: Medline/PubMed, ProQuest, Scopus, Embase, Web of Knowledge and Google Scholar databases until February 1, 2018. All observational studies (cross-sectional, case-control, and cohort) referring to the survival of breast cancer were included in the study. The heterogeneity and its value were examined by Cochran test and I(2) statistics, respectively. Analysis of subgroups performed was based on geographical area and Human Development Index (HDI), using Stata 12 software. FINDINGS: A total of 58 papers were analyzed. Based on a random effect model, the survival rates of breast cancer in different periods—1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 years—were estimated at 93.9, 85, 79.8, 72.6, 69.2, 62.1 and 55.5 percent, respectively. The highest 10-year survival rate was in Iran (59.2%), and the lowest was observed in Bahrain (45%). CONCLUSIONS: Evidence suggests that about half of the patients in this area would die before 10 years survival, which is different from more developed countries. Also, high survival rates are associated with high human development index, which can help health policy-makers to better predict the outcomes of patients.